Our pre Christmas getaway

As many of you know here at Cruise.co we have our annual Conference at Sea. This year we were treated to a 3 night trip over to the wonderful Emerald isle.

Our annual Conference is a trip I always try and attend each year as it is not just a few nights treat away from the hustle and bustle of the festivities, but also a great excuse to meet up with lots of my amazing colleagues that I very rarely get to see in the flesh.

It was my 5th year at Conference and this time Cruise and Maritime were our hosts. Marco Polo would accommodate our party of almost 200!

We have previously sailed twice with Fred Olsen but this was my first experience on CMV and I was interested to see if they could live up to my past experiences on Balmoral and Boudicca as they say their smaller more intimate ships offer ‘a leisurely and traditional home from home country house style of cruising with the emphasis very much on personal service and going that extra mile. ‘

Check in at Avonmouth was not the quickest check in I have ever had but I do think they were trying to board our group all together so I don’t really want to dwell on that too much. First impressions of the ship were exactly what I expected.

At just a little over 22,000 Tonnage, she was one of the smallest ships I have been on. She is also perhaps one of the oldest too at 25yrs of age. I am certainly not one to be put off by the outside of a ship. The overall atmosphere is really what it is all about.

The weather in December was quite kind to us on the first day at sea and the usual movement was felt around the group and as most of us are seasoned Cruisers, it didn’t really affect any of us.

We staying in a Category 12 Premium Ocean View on Deck 7.

It was very spacious with lots of wardrobe and drawer space. The Bathroom was bright and there was a decent shower too.

The public areas around the ship were well kept and really nice and relaxing areas.

Our first night is always fancy dress and I am always so impressed with the effort everyone puts in.  Here are a few Pictures of us all before the All Inclusive drinks took hold!

Our Dinner was in the Main dining room and I have to say it was quite dark. Lovely food though and service was really good. These smaller ships certainly deliver on attention to detail and the staff were very attentive.

We then spent the second night in Dublin as the ship was docked over night. This is a great bonus for a mini Cruise as you don’t always get a great deal of time in the ports so I do feel it is a great idea to just do one stop but spend longer there.

We had a private party arranged for us in Temple Bar and it was a fantastic atmosphere and so busy to say it was a Monday evening.

Dublin is a place I have visited many times and it never fails to put a smile on my face. Everyone is friendly and there is a lovely warmth about the Irish people making you feel so welcome.

Our third day was at sea heading back to Bristol. We were warned about the force 9 or 10 gale that lay ahead. It didn’t really register with me as previous December crossings had been okay. Lets just say I lasted until Lunch time before having to surrender and head back to the cabin to lie down. We were all a bit green that evening but it did settle down late evening time and arrived into Bristol in brilliant sunshine.

All in all a great time was had and I would certainly give CMV another go. They have a few larger ships that I may try when sailing out of the UK. Great value for the money and faultless in service.

Happy New Year to you all

Di x